EA has paused development on Project Lotus, a game widely believed to be the latest iteration of the troubled Project Rene, and shifted Maxis' focus to something called Project Evergreen. The news came as part of a sweeping October 21 restructuring that also saw 400 employees laid off and the closure of BioWare.
An internal email from EA executives Cam Weber and David Tinson, shared with Kotaku, confirmed the shift directly: "In Lifestyle, we're focusing on the long-term potential of The Sims and skate. We're going to prioritize our efforts on 'Project Evergreen' for The Sims to give the team more time to reach the full potential and vision for the game, and to help make this possible, we're pausing development on 'Project Lotus.'"
How Project Rene ended up here
For anyone who lost track of the codenames, here is the short version. Project Rene was first announced as an apparent successor to The Sims 4, with early previews showing a revamped customization system and multiplayer features. Around 2024, it was reportedly downgraded to a mobile game after screenshots surfaced showing something that looked more like a mobile Sims spinoff than a PC sequel. It was also confirmed as free-to-play, and later playtests leaned into a Roblox-style platform with modes that closely resembled popular Roblox experiences like Dress to Impress.
Project Lotus was widely believed to be an alternate internal codename for Rene, and the decision to pause it reads like an acknowledgment that the Rene approach was not working.
What we know about Project Evergreen
Details are thin, but Sims news site Sims Community reported that Project Evergreen may be the new name for what they had previously tracked as "Project X," a separate single-player game that is reportedly closer to a traditional mainline Sims title than Rene ever was. That connection has not been officially confirmed by EA or Maxis, so treat it with some caution.
If the reporting holds up, though, this would represent a meaningful course correction: away from the free-to-play, multiplayer-first direction of Rene and back toward the single-player simulation format that built the franchise.
Community reactions are split
Reactions from Sims players have been mixed but loud. Some are relieved to see the Rene-era approach shelved, particularly given how far the project had drifted from what most players wanted out of a Sims successor. Others are more worried, seeing the layoffs and constant project reshuffles as signs that The Sims franchise is in trouble under EA's ownership.
"Sims 4 not making it out 2026 THE END IS NIGH," one fan posted on X, capturing the anxiety that has built up over years of unclear messaging about where The Sims is headed.
And then there is the codename itself. Calling something "Evergreen" when The Sims 4 has been around since 2014 and still receiving patches feels like an unintentional joke about how long players have been waiting for something new.
Where this leaves Sims 4 players
For now, The Sims 4 remains the only active Sims game. EA has continued to update it, most recently with an October 27 patch overhauling food systems and adding over 150 bug fixes. Whether that kind of support continues at the same pace while Maxis redirects resources toward Evergreen is an open question.
It is also worth watching what happens with competitors like Paralives, which has been positioning itself as a free alternative for life-sim fans who have grown frustrated with the franchise's direction.
None of this is resolved yet. What is clear is that EA's vision for the next Sims game has changed again, and the franchise's future is less certain than it has been in years.
Source: Kotaku via Google News - The Sims 4